Chateau Doisy-Daene 2017

Tasting Notes and Serving Tips for Château Doisy-Daëne 2017

Tasting

Color
The color displays a pale yellow hue with slightly golden and greenish highlights, reflecting the vintage’s well-preserved freshness.

Nose
The bouquet is intense and radiant, revealing aromas of tropical fruits such as pineapple, mango, and passion fruit. These exotic notes are joined by scents of white peach and fresh apricot. Hints of candied citrus—especially lemon and grapefruit—add aromatic vibrancy. With aeration, touches of honey, sweet spices, and white flowers enrich the aromatic profile, while a subtle minerality evokes wet stone.

Palate
The attack charms with its silky, melting texture. The palate shows a remarkable balance between luscious sweetness and a zesty freshness that runs through the tasting. Full-bodied and concentrated, it develops harmonious flavors of candied fruit and honey. The finish lingers at length on mineral and lemony notes, bringing lift and elegance to the whole.

Food and wine pairings

This sweet wine pairs perfectly with foie gras, whether served as a terrine or pan-seared. It also elegantly complements blue cheeses such as Roquefort. For desserts, opt for fruit-based preparations such as a honey fig gratin, an apricot tart, or fresh fruit like white peaches and mango.

A Barsac sweet wine combining aromatic purity and mineral freshness

The estate

Owned since 1924 by Vignobles Denis Dubourdieu, Château Doisy-Daëne is a Deuxième Cru Classé of Barsac in 1855, whose vines rest on fine clays over limestone, the hallmark of a structuring acidity and precise aromas. The estate stands out for four generations of family continuity and for major innovations, notably the Grand Vin Sec launched as early as 1950.

The vineyard

The vineyard of Château Doisy-Daëne spans 16.3 hectares on the limestone plateau of Barsac. The soils consist of a thin layer of clay and sand, about 30 to 40 centimeters deep, over a limestone bedrock. This distinctive geological structure gives the wine its characteristic minerality. The vineyard benefits from a unique microclimate created by the meeting of the Garonne and the Ciron, generating morning mists conducive to the development of noble rot, followed by sunny afternoons that allow the grapes to concentrate. The vines average over 40 years of age.

The vintage

The 2017 vintage stands out for great aromatic purity and fine freshness. Climatic conditions helped preserve the grapes’ natural acidity while encouraging optimal development of noble rot. Harvesting began in late August and took place over several successive passes through the vineyard, allowing only the bunches showing the ideal level of botrytized concentration to be selected.

Winemaking and aging

The grapes for Château Doisy-Daëne 2017 are harvested by hand in several successive passes, with a minimum of three passes through the vineyard. After gentle pressing, the juice is put into barrels for fermentation. Aging takes place for about 10 months in barrels, one fifth of which are new oak, followed by 9 months in stainless-steel tanks before bottling. This approach preserves aromatic purity while bringing subtle complexity to the wine.

Grape varieties

Semillon (87%), Sauvignon Blanc (12%), Muscadelle (1%).